I own a 2016 3.6 with ES. I have a buddy who owns a 2018 Legacy 2.5 with ES. I have an online buddy who sells Subbies in another part of the country and I have a very good relationship with my local salesmen. So here's the scoop:

Women like the Forester because of the much larger sunroof, nearly 360 viewing and that it sits about 4 inches higher than the OB. It parks in smaller spaces than the OB and it's nimbler too. Men like the smaller size for parking but sometimes, depending how long your legs are you might not get the thigh support you want with the Forester.

If you just intend to zip around town then the 2.5 is fine. If you're going run on the highway a lot then the 2.5 is fine. If you're going to pack your car full with your shit before you take a roadtrip then the 3.6 will be the better vehicle.

If you want to tow a little something the 3.6 is better.

The OB is a better land yacht.

3.6 mileage around town is around 20-21. Around 26 on the highway.

The 2.5 will get around 5 more MPG.

Subaru is dumping the 2.0 turbo in a year because the mileage is no better than heavier OB and it drags downt their overall CAFE numbers.

Subies really hold value and there is a guaranteed trade in program that's rock solid. Subie is starting a new 0% program select cars so that might be something to consider too.

I love mine and I've had no problems. Close to 40k miles so far and I'd buy another one.

Great value in a car.

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
I love mine and I've had no problems. Close to 40k miles so far and I'd buy another one.

Great value in a car.

2000 OB wagon - 325,000 + miles started as mine - wife's beater around town
2009 Forrester - 225,000 + miles - #2 son stole it to college
2012 OB wagon - ~75,000 miles my daily driver - the "nice" car

Son has a 2002 Imprezza - 150,000+

All going strong!

I just traded my wife’s 2014 3.6R limited Outback for a 2018 Forester XT. I like the Forester over the Outback and this turbo engine is great (better mpg and power when needed) BTW, I paid right at 30k for it brand new with an extended warranty. Subaru had 0% financing but I only financed 10k. I’d buy new if you can, I think a few thousand is worth new. I actually drove 4 hours to the dealerto buy it and negotiated price over the phone, it’s my second Subaru I’ve bought from this dealer.

I bought a 2017 Outback Limited after driving a 4-Runner for 10 years and 234K miles. Looked at the Forester but the interior was not as luxurious as the Outback. The interior has since been upgraded. There is a new Forester for 2019 and my wife may be looking at that. I have a history of buying the largest engine available in a vehicle but after driving both the 4 and the 6, I couldn't tell much difference and in fact, the 4 felt more responsive around town. I got the factory installed tow hitch. It's less visible than aftermarket hitches. It tows a 3 seater jet ski with no sweat. You don't even know it's back there. My neighbor bought the 6 because some of his driving is up and down mountains. Most of my driving is interstate and the 4 is perfectly adequate. It has never felt lacking and I would get the 4 again. Another point in its favor, if you change your own oil, the filter is on top of the engine. I think on the 6, it's underneath. I purposely passed on the Eyesight because after 60 years of driving, I'm kinda used to doing my own braking. I also found it annoying on loaners I was given, that if you changed lanes without putting your blinker on, it started chirping even if there was not another car in sight. They always say, "Oh, but you can turn it off". Well if it's like that other stupid feature, the start-stop engine, you have to turn it off each time you get in the car.
The Outback feels very solid and rides much more comfortably than my wife's Mazda CX-5. It also has a very roomy back seat for extra passengers. We had several snows this winter as deep as 8 inches and the Outback never broke a sweat.
Downsides: It's Blutooth does not like my Samsung phone. I get mystery notifications, when there are none on my phone. I get that "bing" and the front speakers dim but there's no one there. The voice recognition is worthless. I say, " Call Fred Smith" and the phone says, "Tuning to Channel 3". I agree about the brakes. I seem to have to get on them harder than I think I need to. I also think the battery is a weak link. Mine almost went dead on me once, when I left a door open for about 5 minutes. My salesman let slip that the battery has less than 400 CCA and that they had to replace 17 of them under warranty this winter.
Bottom line, if this one fell into a sink hole tomorrow, I'd buy another.

We sold our 2004 Forester and bought a 2016 Forester. My wife loves it. She hauls the dogs and only drives about 4k miles a year. Perfect for that. Long road trips are probably not comfortable.

We have a 3.6R Legacy so I vote for the Outback, preferably with the 3.6. The Eyesight is cool.

Test drove both today.

Liked the softness/comfort of the seat and the smoother ride of the Outback. Preferred just about everything else about the Forester, including looks, acceleration/handling, leg position, head/hip/shoulder room, ease of entry, seat height, field of view, etc.

I didn't find the Forester seats to be uncomfortable, but they were slightly less comfortable than the Outback. But I did prefer the Forester's seating position. One of the reviews/comparisons I read seemed to nail it: If you're used to driving a car, you'll probably prefer the Outback seating position, but if you're used to driving a SUV/truck, you'll prefer the Forester's seating.

Really wasn't impressed with the purplish blue of that particular Outback too. (I like Subaru's darker "rally blue", but I'm not sure what they were thinking with their sparkly "metallic blue", which looks somewhat purple in direct light.)

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
We have a 3.6R Legacy so I vote for the Outback, preferably with the 3.6. The Eyesight is cool.

With all technology it’s cool until you have to pay to fix it. A replacement windshield is over $1000 and then the cameras have to be calibrated. No telling what the cost would be when something else failed. I would suggest buying an extended warranty if you have Eyesight and the other goodies.
I had the 3.6 in my Outback and I think the turbo engine has quicker response plus it has about the same horsepower as the 3.6

Before my wife retired she drove 100 miles a day to work she put 230000 miles on a forester and loved the vehicle, good visibility, fairly comfortable ride, loves the heated seats. Next she got a outback, (wanted another forester but could not get the heated seats with out a hole in the roof) visibility not as good as the forester, but you can get the heated seats without the sun roof, handles well, no problem merging at interstate speeds. Both are good vehicles, you just have to pick the options that you want and don’t want and work from there.

2011 3.6R Outback Original Owner just passed 150k, my engine is starting to use 1 quart per 3k miles. I've been extremely happy with my outback.

At 60K the stealership replaced the transmission under warranty which I was convinced was uneeded as it didn't fix the random low mph/low land drivetrain growl/vibration that randomly happens. But who is gonna complain about a new transmission?

Outback.

Our daughter has a 2014 Outback and she likes it. Only downside is it takes a quart of oil between changes. It's been back to Subaru several times but they state that is normal.

I bought a Forester.

2016 Forester Limited. Dark Gray Metallic exterior with light gray leather interior. 23,600 miles. And a bunch of additional options beyond the standard Limited trim, including upgraded Harmon/Kardin audio system, Eyesight, Starlink, Homelink, steering-responsive fog lights, navigation, upgraded interior/exterior mirrors, and remote start. Also came with the added accessories of all three cargo area covers (rear seatback, floor, and bumper), and the roof rack crossbeams, so my dog and my kayaks will both be happy.

It has 15 months left on the initial 3 year/36k warranty. And it's a Certified Pre-owned, so it also has a 7 year/100k powertrain warranty added. I'll likely pick up an extended factory warranty too, once I have a chance to shop around online for the best price.



Go it for $25k (sticker was $26,300), which was at the upper end of what I was hoping to spend on a new vehicle, but this one had more options and lower mileage than the other Subarus I was looking at. A bit better condition than some too... (How does someone wear out their leather driver's seat in less than 40k miles?!)

I like the looks of the dark gray metallic color, but I had sworn off dark-colored vehicles after trying valiantly but giving up on keeping my black truck clean and ding-free. This was a good deal, though. Oh well. But I'm serious... The next one'll be light-colored. For sure. Unless I find another good deal on a dark one.

I was originally planning to sell my existing vehicle privately, but they surprisingly offered me much more than expected on trade-in. Over KBB's estimated dealer trade-in Blue Book. It pays to take care of your vehicles, even if they are 11 years old.

Prefontaine - I get where you're coming from, regarding new vs. used, and that may make sense in some situations. But not mine.

Invoice on a new 2018 Forester Limited with all these options is ~$32k. Even if I pare it down to just the options I'm firm on, cutting out the extras, invoice is still ~$30k. Either way, it is definitely more than I was wanting to spend, and would have required financing more than I wanted to finance, even at 0%. Not worth an extra $5k/$7k just for 23k fewer miles and 21 months more warranty. I can get an extended factory 7 year/100k bumper-to-bumper warranty for only ~$1400.

As it stands, the bit that I did finance was at only 1.49%, and will be paid off well before the 36 month term.


So... What now? Weathertech floormats? Maybe some front tint? Anything else?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

Welcome to the family!

Window tint, full synthetic oil, frequent tire rotations.

I'd check to see if you can fit a full size spare under the floor. In my Outback, you can fit it in there if you removed the foam organizer tray and deflated the tire. I bought a spare wheel and tire with TPMS, and do a 5 tire rotation every 5k miles. The AWD requires that all tires have similar wear/circumference, so having a 5th tire is a hedge against having to replace all 4 tires if you damage one beyond repair, plus you get to travel uninterrupted if you ever do get a flat. The only downside is that the TPMS computer can only store 4 wheels in memory, so the tire guy needs to make the computer relearn which 4 wheels to use though the OBDii port, and I have to carry a compressor in the back to inflate the spare before use.

You should also powder coat the wheels bronze

Hope you enjoy it! Fiancee has the '17 and loves it. I personally hate it due only to the crappy uncomfortable passenger seat. Car is otherwise great. Hopefully you do all the driving and won't ever be stuck in shotgun for a 6hr road trip.

Congrats - you done good.

If it has the factory Continentals - prepare to swap them before you hit 40K-----they wear like garbage. And ditto on the Full SYN and rotations!

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
If it has the factory Continentals - prepare to swap them before you hit 40K-----they wear like garbage.

Mine has factory Yokohamas, with plenty of tread left.

Yokohama Geolandar G91 P225/60R17 98H

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I personally hate it due only to the crappy uncomfortable passenger seat.

Wife doesn't find the passenger seat uncomfortable, though she doesn't like them as much as her WRX's seats. She did say that they're wider than her seats, so she slides a bit side-to-side during tight corners.

Her WRX passenger seat is definitely uncomfortable for me, even besides the aforementioned lack of headroom. Not designed for guys with wide shoulders/torsos... The racing-style bolsters hit me in all the wrong spots.

I'm wanting the Crosstrek with the CVT and no turbo.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
I'm wanting the Crosstrek with the CVT and no turbo.

That was my wife's first Subaru. Basically a lifted Impreza hatchback, with a bit more interior space than the Impreza. She liked it, but wanted more power, so now has a WRX. I like the "zoom" factor of the WRX, but dislike that it's more cramped and lower to the ground than her old Crosstrek. Even the Crosstrek was a little small for my taste.

My wife's niece has one. I was impressed with it.
I just need to get over the mountain in the winter.